Reserve Bank of India net sells $3.9 billion foreign currency in August

The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) sold a net total of $3.9 billion worth of foreign currency in August, according to the central bank's monthly bulletin. The central bank bought $5 billion while it sold $43.6 billion of foreign currency in August.

The rupee depreciated by 0.6 per cent in August. In July, the RBI had recorded a net purchase of $3.4 billion in the spot market.

The RBI's net outstanding forward purchase by the end of August stood at $10.07 billion, against $19.47 billion in July.

In the current financial year, the rupee has depreciated by 1.3 per cent. It fell 7.8 per cent in the previous financial year (FY23). In the current calendar year, the rupee has depreciated by 0.6 per cent.

The local currency had appreciated by 0.16 per cent in the first six months of the calendar year.

Notably, as of December 30, 2022, India's foreign exchange reserves amounted to $562.8 billion. These reserves notably expanded by approximately $33 billion over the first half of the year 2023.